Sixteen things you'll remember if you went to the Harriers in Tullamore

Famous Offaly nightclub to host reunion

Reporter:

Express Reporter

23 Mar 2017

Email:

news@leinsterexpress.ie

0

The Harriers Nightclub was a rite of passage for many.

With the news that a Tullamore Harriers reunion night is being organised in Tullamore, here's a list of 16 things you will probably remember if you went to the only place to be on a Saturday night, 'The Harriers'

1 – The heart-in-the-mouth nervous panic that washed over you as you got to the top of the queue, waiting to see if the notoriously angry head bouncer would let you in or not. This feeling was amplified if you'd forgotten to bring your 'Membership Card', a document of paramount importance.

2 – Finding someone in the long, long line for the cloakroom who would hang up your denim jacket or alternatively, finding a dark corner up the back to dump it for the night as queuing was wasting valuable drinking time.

3 – Getting in early on a busy night to avoid the long queue when the buses arrived from all points in the midlands. You were also trying to get a booth near the bar or up the back in the cool seats in 'The Restaurant'.

4 – Being a hero at the bar and ordering double vodkas or double peach schnapps knowing full well it was all going to end badly before you got out the door that night.

5 – If you were a lad, prowling the floor when you knew the slow set was about to start in the hopes of getting the shift.

6 – If you were a girl, watching out for the lads prowling the floor when the slow set was about to start and doing your level best to dodge them.

7 – The sound of numerous teens puking in the toilets while you waited patiently outside the door

8 – Deciding to leave a little bit early just so you had a good spot to watch all the fights in the car park afterwards.

9 – The pain in your calves the next morning after spending the night 'dancing' to house music. 'Dancing', of course, basically consisted of you jumping up and down on the spot, like a member of the Masai tribe.

10 – If you got the bus from Portlaoise, the absolute agony of having to hold in a p**s the whole way back to town from Tullamore.

11 – The drunk lad who seemed to knock a drink out of everyone's hand no matter how much you tried to dodge him while coming up the steps from the dance floor

12 – Lads asking you if you have any chewing gums.

13 - The panic which flashed into your mind when you realised there was only a half an hour to go and you hadn't got the shift yet.

14 – Trying to jump the queue to get your coat from the cloakroom (if you bothered putting it there in the first place) as the girl you were shifting earlier in the night had already left with her friends and you were desperate to catch up with her before she got on her bus to God knows where. You obviously failed to convince her to 'go outside' with you earlier on.

15 – Staggering home afterwards with a curry chips because someone told you that hid the smell of alcohol on your breath. Turns out it didn't and you spent a lot of time trying to convince your irate parents you really only had one pint despite the puke stains all down your clothes.

16 – Not having to worry about your every move and indiscretion being posted all across social media the next day. Back then we had to rely on vague flashbacks and the day after postmortem with friends to piece together what we did.

If you wish, you can contact us using any of the methods below: Leinster Express,107 Lower Main Street,PortlaoiseEmail: editor@leinsterexpress.ieTelephone: 057 8621666

This website and its associated newspaper are full participating members of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie Leinster Express provides news, events and sport features from the Portlaoise area. For the best up to date information relating to Portlaoise and the surrounding areas visit us at Leinster Express regularly or bookmark this page.